Aristides
Aristides is one of the seven Archangels of Utur-Mira and one of the most worshipped. He is enemies with the God Artorious and Lord Marshall of Utur-Mira. Life Aristides was a good companion of Artorious in life, both before and after their meeting with Morator. Before the war of Utur-Mira and Elam, he was a skilled healer of many ailments and magical diseases. When the war broke out, he became one of Artorious' Lieutenant-Generals, in charge of the care and defense of the army itself. While mainly known for his ability to aid others, he was a powerful warrior in his own right. Although he lacked the ferocity and strength of Artorious, he focused on forethought and preparation in combat. While Artorious cut huge swathes in the enemy ranks, Aristides would be an impassable obstacle to advancing enemies, impossible to move or defeat. He established an order after the war that was meant to continue his life's work. Upon ascending to Godhood, becoming the deity of protection and healing. Worship The Church of Aristides has two main goals: caring for the less fortunate and the destruction of those who would threaten them. Although in life Aristides practiced the first, as he neared death, he recognized the need to stop the problem at its source. He resolved to have two different operations within the Church, one to provide aid to the people and the other to hunt and take care of evil beings. Although the second goal may seem to overlap with Artorious' objectives, the Order Hospitallers are meant to try to redeem first and use violence as a last resort. Churches to Aristides are quite common and often contain many clerics specialized in the art of healing and restoration. As such,he is most commonly the deity of faith healers, but also some paladins and warriors who vow to follow his more martial teachings. Crusades Aristides lead his Order Hospitallers in the second crusade and the third with Artorious. When the third crusade resulted in the loss of Artorious Aristides searched for him on several planes for forty years. While the search continued he also found himself inheriting the armies of Utur Mira. For the crusades following Artorious' disappearance Aristides lead the armies of Utur-Mira against their enemies. Order Hospitallers The Order Hospitallers, or Hospitallers, was founded by Aristides as a group that would focus on the more martial aspect of defending innocents: finding and killing the problem at the source. Unlike the Templars, they are an official group who work together in groups and wear distinctively styled uniforms. Most often they are paladins or warriors with experience fighting undead or demons. They are not very large in numbers and also unlike the Templars, require that their warriors be highly skilled, more so than the average fighter. Although the Order is meant to try and redeem evil in the name of the Greater Good, the zealotry of some of the more brash paladins and the low success rate have given rise to the common opinion that the Hospitallers are just '"Templars of a different name". Category:Deities Category:Good Characters Category:Neutral Characters Category:Elves and Elven Culture